I don't think the Smith article is trying to imply that Time Finchem called him or anything, but it would be nice to have more context. The source is probably Smith or his caddie, but I still believe they got that message. In the original article from Australia Golf Digest, the writer says, "the player handbook does include a section with language that states a player can face sanctions for public attacks on fellow players."

Still, I don't like how the PGA is handling this. I'm not sure what they should do. Maybe a sit down with Reed and then issue a statement like, "we sat down with Reed and explained why we have concerns about this. We don't think it was intentional, but all parties agree he has to be more careful in the future about potential violations that can occur in the normal play of the game."

You know. . .something real wishy-washy that acknowledges it was bad, without calling him out, but putting it out there that they don't want to see it again.

So the Tour makes a statement about Reed breaking a rule and being caught on TV. Will they need to do that for every rules infraction and penalty stroke during an event? At the end of the day, each pro is a private contractor in it for themselves promoting their own brand. They can play whatever clubs, hit whatever balls, wear whatever clothes, as long as the conform within the rules. If they are poor at marketing themselves or act like a bunghole, that will affect their brand. That's not why the PGA Tour and front office exists.

It is possible the PGA has or will sit with Reed. We may never know. They don't promote their fines or their meetings...those are leaked by the player/caddie/PR/agent.

As for Smith, there is a policy to not do anything in detriment to the Tour. Smith has said his piece; that can't be taken away. But now, get back to golf and leave the Reed situation to rest. Everyone now knows who and what P Reed is. They will watch him like a hawk. They will freeze him out. They will commentate like Zinger did in Kapalua. We can't completely get rid of him, but can ignore him.

Kang says his ball crossed the hazard where he wanted to drop. Dahmen says it didn't. An official went to the spot where Kang played his second, and determined that he could drop where he alleged his ball crossed the hazard. One player's word against another. We'll never know for sure, but Dahmen definitely put the stink of being a cheater on Kang, regardless of what the truth may be.

Reed straight up cheated, got caught on camera, denied it, and then continued to act defiant about it.

Why is it wrong for Cam Smith to say what he did? He didn't make any speculative statements.

It's a systemic thing, the PGA Tour being very hush hush. Don't tell the people DJ fired a few too many nosechachos. Say he hurt his back in a jetski accident. It's inconceivable that they've elected to publicly support Reed, and slap Cam Smith on the wrist behind closed doors.

Just how are they supporting Reed? Just because they haven't publicly plastered him with tomatoes in the city square does not equate to support. It's not the Tour's place to support or knock down. Only to run tournaments for participants on a level playing field. Continuing to worry about what Reed did in a boutique event while other tournaments are being held does nobody any good from the tour office's standpoint.

And if Cam Smith was playing in any of the major sports in the US, there a 99% chance he would be fined for saying what he did. He said it...wasn't fined...everyone is moving on.

Reed straight up cheated, got caught on camera, denied it, and then continued to act defiant about it.

And that falls squarely on him as an independent professional and the court of public opinion.

The PGA Tour is not interested in their players feuding. In boxing or the UFC, this sort of thing would be welcomed with open arms, over dramatized, and ultimately great for selling pay-per-views. In the NBA and NFL, this sort of back and forth is common but it usually just runs its course swiftly. A media insult or two, maybe a shoving match the next time those players go up against each other, then its over. No real detriment or benefit to the league

Whether we like it or not, the sport of golf and the PGA Tour has a certain image. A gentlemen's game, family, charity, role models, all that fun stuff. Cheating, bad language, drugs, insults, are going to be swept under the rug as soon as possible and in the least public way. It almost does feel a little shady, but oh well. Would players feuding be good for the game? Not sure. But the PGA Tour has no interest in finding out

Side note, in a potential fight I would take bets at Patrick Reed -1000

Reed was assessed a penalty when it happened. That's the extent of action that can be taken against him. It wasn't swept under the rug. His name isn't on a plaque in the hallway of HQ on the list offenders. The incident doesn't get addressed every time the PGA is interviewed or when they push out a release. It happened. It was addressed. the Tour is moving on. How are they sweeping this under the rug??????

Phil stops the ball from rolling off the green at the US Open. Should he be publicly shamed every week in the official PGA press release?

Side note, in a potential fight I would take bets at Patrick Reed -1000

He better hope it doesn't go past the 3rd round.

I'm not sure who I'd least want to fight on the PGA tour -- it's a great thought experiment -- but I know it's not Reed. I'd stay out of his range, let him chase me around, razzle and dazzle him with some fancy footwork and wait till he sags. On the other hand, I wouldn't trust Reed to keep it above the belt, so there's that.

Colt Knost, I could take.

I'd have huge problems fighting a guy with the length of DJ, but he's also "too cool" to be a great fighter. I need a guy keyed up a little more. . .maybe DJ on coke would be a problem.

Poulter I wouldn't want to fight. Although I have a theory he's too concerned about guarding his pretty face, and I could get to the body.

Not Mickelson. I'd forget he can high kick. I think he's a natural righty, too, right? So, he can probably switch south-paw and orthodox without losing anything. He'd be a problem.

I'd attack Jason Day psychologically. I could make him cry without laying a hand on him. Get him off his game. I'd taunt him about his father.

PGA Tour is not the keeper of rules. They could have unilaterally decided that Patrick Reed was lying to them about what happened and suspended him from their tour.

I would have loved to have seen them set a precedent. What if they demoted him to the Korn ferry for the rest of the year and made him earn his way back up? That'd be a sweet punishment. I bet it'd raise ratings for KF.

Leave a Comment

Rich Text Editor.
To edit a paragraph's style, hit tab to get to the paragraph menu. From there you will be able to pick one style. Nothing defaults to paragraph.
An inline formatting menu will show up when you select text. Hit tab to get into that menu.
Some elements, such as rich link embeds, images, loading indicators, and error messages may get inserted into the editor. You may navigate to these using the arrow keys inside of the editor and delete them with the delete or backspace key.